VINCENT A. LAFLEUR

August 24, 1949 – November 24, 2024

Vincent "Vin" LaFleur died Sunday, November 24th, 2024, at age 75. He is survived by an enormous community of family, friends, fellow musicians, students, and canine fans he adored and who loved him immensely in return.

Vin was born in Utica, NY, the third of the four children of Vincent Albert LaFleur, Sr.-a police officer and his namesake– and Catherine Theresa LaFleur, his mother. From a very young age, it was clear that Vin was a gifted musician. He began playing the trombone in elementary school, and in high school made First Chair in the New York All-State Orchestra —an accomplishment his parents learned of only when they read an announcement in the local paper.

Vin began college at Albany State and then transferred to the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, where he earned his Bachelor's Degree in music. His education was interrupted when Vin drew a low draft lottery number during the long Vietnam War. He enlisted in the National Reserves and attended basic training before returning to later finish his degree. The end of his formal education, however, began 50 years of self-teaching, as he learned to expertly play more instruments—such as the piano and many woodwinds and other brass instruments. His musical accomplishments ranged from the visibly spectacular—once playing at Boston Symphony Hall with a trombone choir, and at another moment sitting in with the horn section of the Temptations—to the importantly everyday, as he shared his love of music with his son Kevin (who became a gifted guitarist) and taught music part-time after he retired.

For the past several years, Vin taught music in Boston public schools through the City Music program at Berklee College of Music. He worked in Roxbury, Massachusetts, and elsewhere as a dedicated and empathetic private teacher and ensemble leader, arranging and directing repertoire from Beethoven to Stevie Wonder with other music teachers. Vin was a natural-born teacher who never missed an opportunity to talk about his students and the people he worked alongside. He came home often with thank you notes from his students. Although music was his passion, he also worked as the Beverage Manager for 40 years at The Country Club in Brookline, MA, where, to this day, he is still beloved by the staff. Upon retiring from the Country Club, however, Vin took the time to do what he loved most: playing music, teaching music to students, hiking and cycling outdoors, and spending time with his loved ones.

He took great joy in creating a family with Anne Ehlert, and their son Kevin was the light of his life. The LaFleur-Ehlert family shared similar interests and values; together they biked, rollerbladed, explored Turtle Pond in the Habitat, learned to camp, hiked in the White Mountains, vacationed in the Adirondacks and on Lake Winnipesaukee with extended family, and traveled to National Parks. They all loved music, and Vin and Kevin thoroughly enjoyed playing together. From an early age, Vin and Anne took Kevin to see the greats like Jeff Beck, Pat Metheny, The Allman Brothers, and Herbie Hancock. This influenced Kevin's love of the guitar and Jazz and formed a foundation for his career as a musician. Vin took the opportunity whenever he could to visit Kevin in Montreal, where they would ride bikes, share meals, and play (and record) music together. Vin's greatest joy was spending time with Kevin. The two shared a love of the outdoors (especially hiking and swimming in the National Parks and White Mountains), biking, and music. Together they climbed countless mountains, skied down just as many, looked for hawks through binoculars, swam in rivers, took long naps, read books, watched old movies, talked to animals, sat on rocks, made fun of each other, and played fetch with their dog, Fender. They built a shared world that had equal place for humor, wonder, and tenderness.

But Vin's talents were not limited to music. He was also a lifelong gifted athlete, whose height and body shape made him a natural runner. As a high school student, he set a state record in track and field, another accomplishment that his parents learned of in the local paper. And Vin never stopped running, continuing to jog for the next several decades. He excelled at many sports—such as squash, racquetball, SCUBA diving, waterskiing, rollerblading, yoga, cycling, and running, even golf, which he played rarely. Vin's sister Anne recalls that while Vin had never skied as a child, as an adult he accompanied a few friends on a weekend ski trip. Vin put on his skis, watched other people coming down the slopes for fifteen minutes or so, took the ski lift up to the top, and then skied down without falling. On the morning that Vin died, he did a long bike ride along the roads in and around Northborough, MA, where he had been living with his sister, Sarah. He referred to biking as his "happy place," and despite a handful of recent setbacks—injuries sustained after he was hit by a car— he was still a happy and committed outdoor cyclist.

While it is easy to catalogue Vin's accomplishments, more important was his impact on the lives of his family, friends, and other loved ones. One of Vin's most special qualities was the unique combination of devotion, kindness, humor, and sensitivity that he brought to his relationships. Even as a quiet little boy, he showed amazing generosity. One Christmas when he was about six, he visited his father's eccentric aunt, who gave him a large jar of pennies she had saved. When he arrived home, he took the jar into his room, divided the pennies into piles, and shared them with his sisters. As an adult, he was always ready with a hug, a thoughtful question, or a quiet, deadpan zinger of a joke. He was hilarious and playful and could lighten any mood whenever he wanted. The extended LaFleur-Ehlert family-–made up of many different types of people-–all adore Vin and feel loved by him. We will all keenly feel this loss for the rest of our lives.

He is survived by his beloved son, Kevin LaFleur; his sisters, Sarah Friedman and her partner Harry Rose, Mary Elizabeth Joyce, and Anne LaFleur; his former wife, Anne Ehlert; his nieces and nephews: Zulay Lynn, Flor Lynn, Greta LaFleur, Jonathan Lynn, Margot LaFleur-Rivera and her wife Hayda, Maria Lynn and her partner Damon Johnson, Elvis Lynn, Rachel Mello and her husband Jean, Olivia Allen and her husband Tyler, Matt Mcintyre and his wife, Christina, and Brian McIntyre and his wife, Ashley; his sister-in-law Carol McIntyre and her husband, Steve; and his great nieces and nephews, James, Owen, and Ryan Conley; Nathaniel and Gabriel Bicica; Alexandria and Jacob Johnson, Isabella and Ethan Mello, and Amelia Allen. We hope he will find comfort from loved ones who departed this earth before him, including his parents, Vincent and Catherine LaFleur; his father-in-law and mother-in-law Robert and Phyllis Ehlert; his brother-in-law, Bob Joyce; and his beloved dog, Fender.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Vin's memory to Only a Child, P.O. Box 990885, Boston, Massachusetts 02199. Only a Child was founded and is run by Vin's friend and former colleague George Leger.

A service for Vin will be held at 11:00 am on Saturday, January 18, 2024 at First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church, 630 Massachusetts Avenue, in Arlington Massachusetts. A lunch and musical celebration of life will follow at 1:00 pm at the Arlington Town Hall, 730 Massachusetts Avenue, Arlington, Massachusetts.

Hays Funeral Home, 56 Main St, Northborough, MA 01532 was honored to assist the LaFleur family in time of need. To leave an online condolence, please visit www.HaysFuneralHome.com.